Chapter 18 - Jenna
JENNA
The Following Morning
My bags were all zipped and ready to go, lined up by the door for the bellman to retrieve.
Nicholas was pacing near the window, his cell phone glued to his ear as he and Marshall went over things that needed to be handled upon our return to New York.
I wasn’t sure why, but my heart was aching in my chest—like something between Nicholas and me had shifted overnight—and I felt the urge to take a car back to New York instead of flying there with him.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that,” Nicholas said. “There’s not enough time.”
“What do you mean there’s not enough time?” Marshall yelled so loudly I could hear him. “I want my damn nice list bonus, Nicholas!”
“Who said you were on my nice list?”
“I better be.”
“I think you’ll survive a three-day wait for it.” Nicholas smiled. “Jenna and I have plans when we get back to New York.”
Huh? We don’t have any plans…
“Yeah, I know you have plans.” Marshall might as well have been on speakerphone. “Getting the annulment. But seeing as though you’re coming back on a freakin’ Sunday, you can come into the office and cut my bonus check.”
“I’ll see you on Wednesday, Marshall.”
“Wednesday? Nicholas, I swear to God—”
“I’ll think about Tuesday.” He turned around to face me. “Actually, let me call you back. I need to check on something.”
“No, wait!”
He ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Hey…” He looked confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just ready to get back home.”
“Tell me the truth, Jenna,” he said, looking concerned. “You look sad as hell.”
“I was thinking about your lists.” The words rushed out of my mouth. “How much I deserve to be on the nice list every year.”
“Bullshit, Jenna…”
“I deserve to be on there every fucking year.”
“Have you ever heard me complain about you writing ‘not a goddamn thing’ next to my name on your annual Christmas list?”
“You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I did.”
“That’s—” I shook my head. “That’s not the point I was trying to make. Let me finish.”
“Fine.” He held up his hands in a slight surrender before motioning for me to continue.
“I’ve worked for you for so long that I feel like I have just as much at stake as most of your executives, and yet I get the least amount of support from you.”
I swallowed hard before continuing. “And although I’ve usually managed to enjoy what’s left of my holidays, as of today, you have made this year the worst Christmas ever, and I will never forgive you.”
“What?”
“Never,” I said, feeling my voice cracking. “I will never forgive you.”
I sucked in a breath as he strolled closer to me.
He pressed a hand against my forehead as if there were something physically wrong with me, then he looked into my eyes.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, Jenna,” he said. “What the hell is wrong with you? What’s changed between now and last night?”
“I don’t know where I stand with you anymore,” I admitted, my voice still wavering. “And I can’t keep pretending I don’t care.”
“So, the moment we return to the city—the moment after you receive your precious inheritance and give Marshall his long-awaited bonus—you’re going to grant me the most generous severance package in company history, and then you’re going to—”
“Stop,” he said quietly, pressing a finger against my mouth. “Stop it.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m still not done.”
“Yes, you are.” He trailed his thumb against my bottom lip. “You’re just talking nonsense. You’re also—clearly—trying to hurt my feelings.”
“Since when do you have those?”
“Since I made the terrible decision of hiring you to work for me.”
What?
He kissed me before I could finish my thought, gently biting my bottom lip and preventing me from uttering another word.
“Technically speaking,” he said, “my ‘naughty or nice’ lists have never applied to you. I always make sure your salary is the highest at the company and far higher than all my competitors.”
“And last I checked, you get a raise every month because whether I’ve ever admitted it before or not… you’re the most incredible person who’s ever worked with me.”
“You have one hell of a way of showing me that.”
“I’m not done talking.”
He kissed me again, deeper, harder this time, so much so that I was too breathless to even think about interrupting again.
“But the main reason I put you on the naughty list is a note to myself,” he said.
“Keep Jenna busy because you like her.
Because if she wasn’t busy with me, she might find someone else—and I couldn’t let that happen—ever.”
“I know that wasn’t fair to you, and extremely selfish,” he admitted. “But I’m being honest, and this Christmas solidified exactly why I did that.”
My heart skipped a beat as he tilted my chin up with his fingertips.
“Is this really the worst Christmas you’ve ever had?”
No.
“Yes. By far.”
“Then what can I do to change it?”
“Tell me when you’d like to schedule our annulment so I can stop the delusions that are playing games in my head.”
“What delusions?”
That this could actually mean something…
“My family truly believes we’re together, and it’s all they’re talking about in our group chat,” I said. “They’re making plans to come to New York and a lot of other things that’ll never happen. They like you, Nicholas.”
“So do you.”
“I know…” I sighed. “When would you like to schedule our annulment?”
“I guess we should plan it for…” He hesitated, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Never. I don’t think we should get an annulment at all.”
“Huh?” I sucked in a breath as he pulled me even closer. “What are you saying?”
“That I would like to remain married to you, Jenna Dawson,” he said. “Not under the guise of getting an inheritance, not under the guise of playing pretend for an audience. I would like it for real, for the rest of my life.”
I blinked a few times, certain I’d misheard him.
“I spend most of my time with you already and it never feels like enough,” he said. “I talk to you all day, every day, and—and I can’t deal with the thought of you ever being with anyone else.”
“Marriages are meant to be monogamous, Nicholas…” I tried to make him come to his senses. “You’re not the settling-down type…”
“I haven’t had much of a dating life since you, Jenna,” he said. “Last I checked, neither have you. And for the record, I would never fucking cheat on you.”
“I don’t want anyone else,” he continued, answering my next escape clause before I could say it. “You’re my wife-to-be, and I want you to stay that way long after we make it official, if you’ll say yes to staying married to me.”
I stared at him, my mind racing a mile a minute, the words choked back in my throat.
He exhaled slowly, like he was bracing himself. “I should probably re-propose, right?”
I nodded, and he got down on one knee. Then, after clasping my hand, he pulled a glittering gold envelope from his breast pocket.
“Jenna Dawson, I have a lot to say to you, but I figured given our history, this is probably the best way to handle this.” His gaze held mine, unyielding. “Will you do me the pleasure of giving me the top thing on my wish list?”
“Depends.” I nodded as tears fell past my cheeks. “Are you going to correct your mistake from earlier this month and put me on the nice list?”
“You know better than to ask me that.”
“My answer hinges on whether you put me on there or not.”
His low laughter sent fluttering butterflies against my stomach, and he gently opened the envelope, showing me the card.
Dear Jenna Dawson,
I made a list and checked it twice,
to determine if you were naughty or nice…
You are (still)
NAUGHTY.
But I can make an exception just this once if you say yes to marrying me…
Please say yes.
“Yes.” I laughed as he stood up. He pulled me against his chest, and kissed me—sealing the deal on this being the best Christmas I’d ever had…
THE END